Jess & Tom’s Saving Challenge: $20K in 12 Months for a Wedding

Meet Jess and Tom — both 29, living together in Hobart. With rising costs and a modest combined income of $110K, they were determined to save $20,000 for their dream wedding without taking on debt. The result? They hit their goal in just 12 months, and even had a honeymoon fund leftover.

📆 Setting a Deadline and a Goal

They circled a date — 12 months from now — and reverse engineered their savings. That meant:

• $1,667/month combined
• $834/person/month
• About $28/day each

💳 Step 1: Audit, Cut, Automate

• Used Frollo to audit all spending
• Eliminated Uber Eats, alcohol, and new clothing
• Set up direct deposit to a “Wedding Fund” account with Up Bank

🍳 Step 2: The ‘No-Spend Weekend’ Rule

Two weekends per month, they did no paid outings. Instead:

• Cooked together with friends
• Visited free events and beaches
• Used public library date nights (true story!)

They saved $250–$300/month this way.

📈 Step 3: Track & Celebrate

They built a simple Google Sheet with milestone targets. Every $5K saved = small reward (like a picnic with takeaway). It kept them motivated.

🛠️ Tools Jess & Tom Used (Affiliate Opportunities)

• Frollo: Spending analysis + budgeting insights
• Up Bank: High-interest savings + goal features
• Splitwise: For tracking shared expenses

🎉 Result: Wedding & Honeymoon Without Regret

Jess and Tom had a beautiful $16K wedding, with $4K left for a New Zealand honeymoon. “We didn’t feel restricted — we felt aligned,” they said.

💡 Key Takeaways

• Shared goals build stronger relationships
• Little lifestyle tweaks add up fast
• Tracking + celebrating progress keeps you going

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